Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-17

not bssa satirsly wasted. Naay o. III
Indians on the Grow Reservation hAvs
made progress. Chisf Plsntioouss. 10 com.
parativsly well Oh through following mp
the lessons In agriculture taught ct the
agency, and many others ars able to earn
their own living by farming. The Indians
here have already expressed themselves
ready and anxious to give up the rsssrvs.
ton system and take up lands
in ssveralty and it 10 the only reservation
in the country whore the Indians have
been willing in advance to have it opened
to settlement. While the reservation on
the north 10 simply . grasinE country, this
reservation contains an abundant supply
a. yet hardly realized Of minerals Of all
kinds. In . mining sense alone. its opening
up would moan . very great addition to
tho output OF valuable metals in tho Terri
tory and . new field for the employment Of
hundreds Of men. Aslong a. the Grows re-
main there their herds OF horses will be An
object Of cupidity to Indians elsewhere,
who will raid them constantly, and in
going and coming will lift" what
they can OF tho white settlers stock.
This Is one reason Why it 10 imperative
that the reservation be abolished and tho
tribal system be broken up 90 that the
settlers Of Eastern Montana may be
spared the loss OF stock and other out
RACES that they are exposed to from raid.
ing parties on the way to tho Crows. The
Indians OF the reservation are not FREQ
from charges Of being . nuisance to Get.
tiers in Northern Wyoming, whose prop.
erty they have repeatedly burned. Tho
greatest obstacle about this reservation,
however, is tho obstruction it constitutes
in the way OF the progress Of Eastern Mon.
tana. Large cattle growers have been
granted immunity from paying any taxes
through it. There are now pending suits
in Yellowstone County for taxes on cattle
claimed a. due by the county officials,
but which the cattle owners who grase
their herds on the reservation, refuse to
pay. It prevents ready access to the rail-
road from Northern Wyoming, whence cat
tie driven across tho reservation to the
railroad have to pay toll. and are besides
stolen on the way. It lies between
the Northern Pacific and the agri-
cultural region OF the Yellow
valley and the oil regions of northern
Wyoming, which should have free access to
that section OF Montana, since they are
in on nearly every other side by
mountain ranges. There are
OF northern Wyoming deprived of
postal facilities by it's presence. and not
settled places either. A postal
route cannot be arranged through the res
srvation.
As things are 1T present. Butte 10 not
concerned in this matter further
than that the prosperity Of n section is
the prosperity OF all. But Butte can look
forward to the day being very o o here
when she will be deeply concerned in seeing
that reservation opened to settlement
and yielding it's prolific addition to
The general prosperity. When the
Northern Pacific branch from
here to Gallatin is completed, as 10 almost
certain to be the case next year, Butte will
want to see that part OF the Territory that
will be directly tributary to it AZ fully open
70 development a. will be possible, and the
valuable minerals the Territory contains
the shape Of coal beds and low grade ga
ena ores are themselves incentive enough
Butte to be interested in tho opening of
The Grow Reservation. The press of tho
Territory should make Q united and I'M
effort to have this large factor in |
the future OF Montana's resources added
20 them at once, and in = movement to
open any Of the reservations should insist
Upon that OF the Crows receiving first con-